Highway marking device



Feb. 10, 1948.

H. c. SNEAD, JR

HIGHWAY MARKING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 Filed Sept. 20, 1943 INVENTOR. #em'rC Snead, J/r

A 7'7Z7R/VEY.

Feb. 10, 1948. H. c. SNEAD, JR

HIGHWAY MARKING DEVICE Filed Sept 20, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

bm'r C nead, L/f? 02/ X0 7 24 ATTUR/VEY- Patented Feb. 10, 1948 ES PATENT OFFICE mama? mGHWAYMARKmG-DEWGE Hem CI." Sneak In San Emnciscm Application STeptemIier 20,1943; swarm sown (one +115 6! Glaiims: If

invention relates generally to the menu-:-

facture and use oi a; device for marking" lanes hi'g-hwaysi A V v Heretci cre lanes in highways have been outlined by lines painted on th highway dividingthesame intcq anesz ra-i'sedicurbings' in the highways fer the same purpose; ordevices arranged in lines onthehighways which devices reflect light to the driver of the=vehihle thereby outIii-rm the imam whic'i'r-he-fs traveling".

Hines: painted upon the highways are easily obliterated by dirt and grease deposited upen the highway and are eflectiive only under'certain conditi'ons: They: are generally ineffective when the entire highway surface in wt; orfbr some other neascm reflects: light: at. which: time the lines and the. highwaymerge into one reflectingsurface and theadistincti'cnibetweem the twhis Iost; Lines present. no: obstacles: tca: motorist who does: not desire: stay: within thelane which they mark and are fun that reason unsati sf-actery.

Devices ot the second character, that is curbingslim the highway; are di flicult and expensive to; ennstmmt; they prevent cnes passing over them; in: the: event: anemergency requires the same; and? they: require; valuable space for their construction. Furthermore, especially at night when"; vehicles have--theirheadiights'- operation and when hihhway lightsare reflected from the surface}. and when: the highway iswet, the whole highway including: the rai'sed eurhi ngsbecomes one; reflie'cting surface and the curbings become indistinct. and merge-with the highway;

Devices: of thethird type; that is; devices of the: reflector character; are subject to the disadvantage thatthey-areineflicient when theroadway surface is wet: at which time the light which they reflect is i'r-i'tlistinfzuishaicl'e from thelight reflected by the W811" surface oi the roadway:

is: an: object of this; ihventibn' to provide a highwaw marker which presents a mark wh ch is: clearly. distinguishable from the surrounding surface h i'ghwaymnder' all roadway ccndi'itiims' and under all lighting conditions;-

Itvis a ohj'ect of the invention to' provide ahighway marker which presents an obstacle but which may he overrun in the. event of an emergency; Itris; a; further object of. this. invention to, pro.- vide a highway marker which. does not take ad,- vantage of reflected, light. but takes advantage of the shadows it creates;

It is a turther phiiect of the present inventicn to; provide a highway marker. which; is highly eificient' regardless: of the light" condition. and; the moisture condition of? the highway: surface-a.

Further objects of the: inventicnz, will. appear from the; fmibwing? descriptibn which. the; preferred embodiments have beenrseii forthin; detail in conjunction with the? accompanying drawings;

Referring to: the drawings:

Figure- 1'. is: a perspective viewshowi'ngzmy high.- way-marker;

Figure 2 is a; cross-section, taken; alcng line 2-2 of; Figure 1;

Figure 3 islacross secticnz taken along line 33 cfFig-ume 1%,. andi Figure 4' is, a. perspective view at a mcdifica-tion of highway markets Figure 5:: is a ton plant view-eta h me iii ti n shown; in; Figure: in

Figure GiiSEBJ cmssyseotiorr01?? fiurther modificaticn of myroad marker:

The preferred embodiment of my roadmarker illustra ed inthe; accompanying, drawings consists or a plurality of" longitudinal metalistrips L0 lit and: t2: which are paralleltoreach other. As shown these: members create. two; longitudinal slots 1-3. v and: Mp. 1} have arrangeda; plurality, of members L5 in eacha ofv these slots Thesememhers; l-E- are inclined. as shown. in Figs, 1. and, 2, those' in' one slot beimr inclined in: one direction andlat an angle ofaploroxinrately 12 with resbect to the surface ofthe highway. and those in the other area beingzinclined in theopnositedirection at an angle of approximately 12? of. the hi hway.

At requent intervals I have provided members 161 wh ch" are adapted to supnort. longitudinal membersv I11,= H and MV andv inclined; members I15 abo e he. surface cf. the highway..

Adjacent the lower edges of members It! and I2 and. preiecting at right angles. outwardly theretci I have. provided. members L1 which also restlucon members I55, I have further provided longitudinal members I! which it will be. noted are. permanently fastened; to the upper edges of the outer, members l1!" and I2 andthe; outer edge of horizontal members IT. The outside strips l0 and 12*, center strip H, inc-lined members l5, members" l1 and members N form a; bridge-like construction of great strength whichwill" prevent the collapse of the-device when a truck or other heavyvehielerolls overit;

In order that. this: devicemay be fastened to the highway 13' have: provided complementary holes: Hi5, H1 and m throughwhich bolts 21, which have previously 98.11% embedded in; the highway; mayprctrude. Nut, amt washer 22; and: 23,- are adantedr tq; ceoneratie: wimthe; pm:-

truding bolt and fasten the marker securely to the highway. I find it advantageous to space my device from the highway by use of members I5, as otherwise water and highway dirt would collect in the recesses between members I and fill the same thereby rendering the device useless as will be hereafter explained. Wind and air currents caused by passing vehicles are free to circulate under and around my device and carry off refuse. Water will drain off naturally. These self cleaning and self draining qualities are advantageous.

It will be obvious that when ones position is above and to one side of this road marker, as in Figure 1, he will see longitudinal member I8 on the side of the marker nearest to him in its entirety; he will see a portion of the upper surfaces of each of members I5 in the longitudinal slot I3 farthest from him, and he will see inclined members I5 in the longitudinal slot I I nearest him in the following order: (a) referring to those closest to him, he will see a portion of the upper surfaces, (12) referring to those at some distance from him and continuing to the vanishing point, he will see either the very thin leading edges 24 of members I5 which reflect substantially no light and the recesses between members I5, or the lower sides of members I5 which reflect no light and the recesses between members I5. The lower side of member I5 will be indistinguishable from the rest of the recess as will be pointed out hereinafter, and will blend with the shadows created within said recess. Very little, if any, light will be reflected by the surface of the highway directly below my device. Therefore, very little if any, light from this source will be visible through the recesses between members I5 and the shadow within said recesses will not be destroyed.

Members I8 will form a continuous strip. Inclined members I5 in slot I3 farthest from the observer, will tend to form a continuous strip in that the observer sees the upper surfaces of the successive members with no breaks between. At a light distance from him, the observer will see neither the upper nor lower surface of inclined members I5 in the longitudinal slot I4 closest to him, but will look into the recesses between these members and will see, not their reflective upper surfaces, but only the shadows created Within the recesses.

In the preferred embodiment of my device I have painted the members I8 one color and a portion of the upper surfaces of inclined member l5 the same color. I have painted the surfaces of members III, II and I2 and the lower surfaces of members I5 a contrasting color. I also paint a portion of the upper surfaces of members I5 the contrasting color, as shown. I have found that by painting strips I8 and a portion of the upper surfaces of members I5 white, and by painting vertical members I 0, II and I2 and the lower surfaces of members I5 black, that good results have been achieved because these colors contrast sharply and are not liable to confuse persons subject to color blindness. By having members I0, II and I2 and the lower portion of members I5 and that portion of each member l5 below the following member I5; all of the same color, these portions blend together and enhance the shadow effect. I create a series of relatively long and narrow recesses from which no light is reflected and by virtue of their bein adjacent each other these shadow producing recesses form a continuous line.

It is obvious that if water or other refuse collected within these recesses, their effect would be reduced or lost.

Operation of my device as a highway marker may be briefly described as follows: The driver of an automobile will see a continuous white surface I8 and a substantially continuous white surface separated therefrom, which is created by the upper surfaces of inclined members I5 in the longitudinal slot farthest from him. Because of their location, these surfaces will tend to reflect light to the observer and will be clearly visible to him. Between members I8 and the aforementioned members I5, and at some distance from him, the observer will not see the surfaces of the inclined members I5 in the longitudinal space nearest him, but will look between these inclined surfaces and will see, not reflected light, but shadows created by these members and will therefore see a black line which is thrown into relief by the two white lines bounding it. It is of course obvious that at a substantial distance from the observer the highway marker will tend to merge with the highway on the horizon and its definite characteristics will not be observed. However at that distance the necessity of a clear line of demarkation between the lanes is not great. It will be equally true that close to the observer there will be a substantial number of inclined members I5 in the slot closest to him, the upper surfaces of which will be visible to him and which will not present a black line. However in the section intermediate these two extremes, there will be definitely created a space of shadows from which no light including that from the observer's vehicle will be reflected.

In one project in which the preferred embodiment of my invention has been employed, the object was to provide a center dividing line in a six lane highway which was subject to a great deal of rain. Aside from the lights of oncoming vehicles, the driver was further subjected to the glare from permanent lights on each side of the highway at a height of 25 feet from the highway and spaced feet apart. When the surface of the highway was wet, the entire surface reflected light and all prior markings were obliterated.

Members I0. II and I2 were 2 inches high and were spaced 8 inches apart. Members I8 were 3 inches wide. The-overall width of my device was 10 inches. Members I5 were 3 inches wide and 12 inches long. On the upper surfaces of members I5 the upper 5 inches were painted white and the lower 7 inches painted black. The overall height of my device was 3 inches.

The driver of an automobile in the lane next to my highway marker saw two continuous white strips created by member I8 nearest him and by the upper surfaces of members I5 in the longitudinal slot farthest from him. Beginning at a point approximately 15 feet in front of his automobile the driver saw the leading edges 24 of inclined members I5 in the longitudinal slot nearest him and looked into the recesses between said inclined members I5 and saw the shadows created within the recess. These shadows created a continuous black line which continued from a point 15 feet in front of his vehicle to the a light from the permanently installed lights overhead was reflected and no light from oncoming vehicles was reflected. Even under conditions under which the entire highway surface would ordinarily reflect light. this black line was outstanding.

It will be appreciated that my invention is not limited to the particular device shown by the preferred embodiment, but that mechanical expediency may dictate its alterations at various times.

As shown in Fig. 6, I have provided a device in which a series of short lengths of pipe 30 are embedded in the highway surface, or in a suitable curbing, at some distance from each other. The interior of these short lengths of pipe would reflect no light and would create a series of black dots upon the highway. Suitable drainage and cleaningrnedia may be employed to overcome drainage and cleaning difficulties should they arise. This type of device might be built into a bridge and the pipes 30 might extend through the entire structure and drain into the space under the bridge.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5 I have provided in the middle of the highway a marker which is composed generally of a raised concrete curbing 40 having sloping sides 4! and 42. Upper surface 43 is flat and adapted to reflect light and may be painted any suitable color. In sloping surfaces 4! and 42 I have provided recesses 44. It will be appreciated that recesses 44 are separated from each other by a cement wall 45 which, is set at an angle of approximately 12 to the longi tudinal axis of my device. Whereas the members [5 are set at an angle of 12 with respect to the plane of the highway, members 45 are set at an angle of 12 with respect to the plane of surfaces 4| and 42 respectively. However it will be appreciated that the members 45 have the same purpose as members 15 in the preferred embodiment in that they create shadow-creating recesses, from which no light will be-reflected. In the event driving conditions are difficult, as for example when rain makes the highway surface mirror-like, the highway surface and surface 43 will reflect light but the recesses 44 in members 41 and 42 respectively will not reflect light. If one is driving at ordinary conditions, a black line between the reflective surfaces 43 and the highway surface will stand out impressively.

I also contemplate that my device may be altered by the omission of one of said longitudinal slots l3 or l4 and its complementary members 45, when an occasion arises in which it is neces-. sary that a marker be made which need be visible from one direction-only.

I also contemplate that my device is not to be restricted to use on highways but may be used wherever clear lines of demarkation are required on lighted surfaces such as airport runways, etc.

It is obvious that there are many ways in which my road marker may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. On a highway surface a highway marker comprising a pair of spaced parallel wall portions extending longitudinally above the highway surface and vertical with respect to the same, a plurality of parallel wall portions disposed transversely between the first named wall portions and inclined at an acute angle to the surface of the highway thereby forming a series of recesses having the open ends of the same disposed one behind the other and faced in the general direction of the highway surface along its longitudinal axis.

2. In a highway marker as defined in claim 1 in which the upper surfaces of the inclined wall portions have a light reflecting surfacing to form an area of high visibility when viewed in a direction opposite to that in which the open ends of the recesses are faced.

3. In a highway marker as defined in claim 1 in which the upper surfaces of the inclined wall portions are provided with a surfacing to reflect light to thereby form an area of high visibility when viewed in a general direction opposite to that in which the open ends of the recesses are faced and in which the inner walls of the recesses are provided with a light absorbing surface to enhance the blackness of the shadow.

4. In a highway marker as defined in claim 1 in which the recesses have a length in a direction longitudinally of the highway which is relatively great compared to the height of the same.

5. On a highway surface a marker comprising a plurality of walls serving to form a plurality of recesses disposed one behind the other, each of said recesses having an open end faced in one general direction along the longitudinal axis of the highway surface, said Walls including longitudinal wall portions vertical to the highway surface, and parallel wall portions extending between the first named wall portions and inclined at an acute angle to said highway surface, the recesses serving to intercept light whereby when viewed from said general direction they appear as a seriesof shadows one behind the other.

6. On a highway surface a marker comprising three vertical spaced parallel members forming two adjacent parallel slots, a plurality of inclined members placed in each slot, members in one of said slots forming a series of open ended recesses placed in one direction along the longitudinal axis of the highway surface, members in the other of said slots forming a series of open ended recesses faced in the opposite direction along the longitudinal axis of the highway surface, whereby the open ends of said first series of recesses appear as a series of shadows when viewed from said first direction and the open ends of said second series of recesses appear as a series of shadows when" viewed from said opposite direction.

H.C. SNEAD, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 700,836 Scott May 27, 1902 1,496,558 Schulzke June 3, 1924 2,118,331 Taroff May 24, 1938 2,211,956 MacMichael Aug. 20, 1940 2,313,600 Talty Mar. 9, 1943 2,330,808 Bingham Oct. 5, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 383,366 Great Britain Nov. 17, 1932 463,626 Great Britain 1937 749,197 France May 1933 

